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ublications of the Red Cross Institute lor 
Crippled and Disabled Men 

Edited by Douglas C. McMurtrie 
Series II December 23, 1918 Number 4 

Employment Opportunities for 
Handicapped Men in the 
Coppersmithing Trade 

By Bert [. Morris 

Bureau of Vocational Guidance 
Division of Education 
Harvard University 

Prepared by the 

Bureau of Vocational Guidance 
In cooperation with 

Red Cross Institute for Crippled and 
Disabled Men, New York 


The Red Cross Institute for Crippled and Disabled Men 
311 Fourth Avenue New York City 



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Monogram 


























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Employment Opportunities 
Handicapped Men in the 
Coppersmithing Trade 


Copyright, 1918, by Bureau of Vocational Guidance 
Harvard University 

















































Heating copper pipe used in shipbuilding with an oil blast 






Contents 


Page 

Foreword. 7 

The Uses of Copper. 11 

Early Uses of Copper. 11 

Present Uses of Sheet Copper . 11 

The Opportunities for Employment. 13 

The Increasing Demand for Coppersmiths ... 13 

The Future Development of the Industry ... 13 

The Nature of the Work. 15 

Light Articles. 15 

Heavy Articles. 16 

Piping Equipment. 16 

Suitability of the Trade to Handicapped Men . . 17 

Work in Light Sheet Copper. 17 

Specific Disabilities. 18 

Work in Heavy Sheet Copper. 19 

Description of Processes. 19 

Specific Disabilities. 24 

The Health Conditions in Coppersmithing .... 26 

Qualifications of Workmen and the Training Re¬ 
quired . 27 

Physical Qualifications. 28 

Educational Qualifications. 28 

Training Coppersmiths. 29 

The Present Situation. 29 

Shop Schools. 3° 

Training for Promotion. 33 

The Fore River Apprenticeship Plan .... 36 

Training Disabled Men. 3 7 


Provisions for Training Disabled Men in Canada 38 
























4 


CONTENTS 


Page 


Conclusions. 39 

Some Economic Aspects of the Coppersmithing In¬ 
dustry . 41 

Number and Nativity of Coppersmiths .... 41 

The World’s Production and Consumption of 

Copper. 42 

Location of Coppersmith Shops . 44 

Bibliography. 47 







Illu strations 

Facing 

page 

Heating copper pipe used in shipbuilding. 3 

A copper expansion joint. 14 

Drilling holes for attaching fittings to copper coil . 14 

Brazing a copper seam. 15 

Operations in the manufacture of copper floats . . 15 

Soldering small copper pipes in a condenser ... 24 

Deep sea diving helmets. 24 

A planishing machine. 25 

An automatic rolling machine . 25 

Man with right hand amputated punching holes . 32 

Hammering out the wrinkles. 33 

Three typical coppersmithing operations. 33 





























Foreword 


This is the first of a series of occupational reports which 
are being prepared by the Bureau of Vocational Guidance 
of the Division of Education of Harvard University in 
cooperation with the Red Cross Institute for Crippled 
and Disabled Men. The work is being done to assist the 
Federal Board for Vocational Education which has been 
empowered by the Smith-Sears Act, approved June 27, 
1918, to provide for the rehabilitation and placement of 
disabled soldiers and sailors. 

The aim of the Smith-Sears Act is to provide for the 
training and equipment of men for occupations in which 
they can become, as nearly as possible, one hundred per 
cent, efficient in spite of their handicaps. How to deter¬ 
mine the kind of training that will equip men to do this 
is a difficult problem. Judging from the experience of 
the Allies who have been working at the problem for 
more than three years, no adequate solution seems pos¬ 
sible without thorough information concerning occupa¬ 
tions suitable to disabled men. To make this needed in¬ 
formation available, the Bureau of Vocational Guidance 
of Harvard University has undertaken a comprehensive 
study of typical forms of industry and business. In 
carrying on its investigations and in preparing its bulle¬ 
tins the Bureau has two main purposes in mind: First, to 
place before the returned men descriptions of the varied 
opportunities for employment open to them, and second, 
to make available for vocational counselors a fund of in¬ 
formation which will assist them in advising the men as 
to the training courses they should enter and in helping 
them to choose their new occupations. 


8 


C0PPERSM1THING TRADE 


The study presented in this report deals with the trade 
of coppersmithing. The information has been gathered 
by personal visits to a number of coppersmith shops, by 
interviews with journeymen, leading men, foremen, em¬ 
ployment managers, owners, and general managers; and 
by correspondence with representatives of numerous other 
shops that were not reached by personal visits. The 
manuscript has been read and approved by master copper¬ 
smiths, foremen, and employment managers, so that the 
information here given is authentic. 

Different shops have different methods for doing similar 
processes, hence the descriptions of the processes have 
been made typical rather than exact accounts of the work 
in one particular shop. The differences, however, pertain 
to minor matters and not to fundamentals. The endeavor 
has been, not to deal exhaustively with technical details, 
but merely to present the facts in a way that would give 
one not familiar with the technicalities of the trade a clear 
understanding of the working conditions, nature of the 
processes, qualifications of workers, opportunities for 
employment, and suitability to men with various dis¬ 
abilities. 

In dealing with the work in light sheet copper, certain 
difficulties presented themselves owing to the fact that 
much of this work is done by sheet metal workers rather 
than by coppersmiths. Many shops employ sheet metal 
workers as well as skilled coppersmiths, and in these shops 
the tendency is to disregard any hard and fast distinc¬ 
tion between the work of the two. It is made clear in 
the text that the real distinction between the coppersmith 
and the sheet metal worker is in the nature of the article 
made rather than in the gauge of the copper used. When 
brazing and forming of copper is to be done, the services 
of a coppersmith are required whether the article is made 
of light or of heavy sheet copper. This will explain why 


FOREWORD 


9 


work which is often done by the sheet metal worker is 
included in this study. 

The subject of training workers is treated with some 
fullness both because of its importance and because of the 
fact that the fundamental principles apply to other occu¬ 
pations which will be dealt with in later reports. 

In conclusion a word should be said concerning the 
method followed in pointing out the suitability of the work 
to men with various disabilities. In dealing with work in 
light sheet copper the several disabilities are related to the 
work as a whole without making any distinction as to the 
different processes. This seemed advisable on account of 
the fact that most of the processes involved in this work 
are comparatively light. On the other hand, in dealing 
with the work in heavy sheet copper the different pro¬ 
cesses are listed, and the suitability of each process to men 
with various disabilities is discussed. This plan neces¬ 
sarily led to considerable repetition but it has the advan¬ 
tage of presenting more accurate information. 








* 

















Employment Opportunities for 
Handicapped Men in the 
Coppersmithing Trade 

THE USES OF COPPER 

Early Uses of Copper. Copper was one of the first metals 
used by man. In the days before Abraham, Tubal-Cain 
was a master coppersmith and “a forger of every cutting 
instrument of copper and iron.” We are told that Cadmus 
taught the use of copper to his countrymen. The Homeric 
Greeks knew the value of the metal and named it after the 
city of Chalcis. The Incas in Peru used a copper alloy, 
probably tempered by some lost process, to make the tools 
with which they cut the granite stones for the construction 
of their immense aqueducts and temples. In various 
European lands weapons and tools made of an alloy of 
copper have been found in the graves of prehistoric 
peoples. Among the ancient art treasures in the British 
Museum are various articles made by skilled coppersmiths 
in the early dawn of civilization. Included among these 
articles are cooking utensils, lamps, vases, personal adorn¬ 
ments, implements of war and of the chase, memorial 
tablets, and similar articles. The nature, style, and work¬ 
manship show that coppersmithing played an important 
part in the earliest days of human progress. 

Present Uses of Sheet Copper. For centuries copper¬ 
smithing was devoted almost entirely to the manufacture 
of the class of articles mentioned in the last section. The 
secrets of the handicraft were handed down from gen¬ 
eration to generation with scrupulous care. When a father 
taught his son the intricacies of the trade, he charged him 


12 


COPPERSMITHING TRADE 


to guard them from the scrutiny of prying eyes. This 
reluctance to teach the trade to others was due to the fact 
that coppersmiths looked upon their trade as a private 
possession to be inherited as other property is inherited. 

At the present time sheet copper is used in so many lines 
of industry that the art of coppersmithing is no longer 
held as a patrimony by a few. As in other trades, speciali¬ 
zation has taken place and men work in groups, each doing 
only a part of the work required to turn out a finished 
article. This group method of working has done much to 
overcome the careful guarding of the intricacies of copper¬ 
smithing. Furthermore, most of the light articles which 
formerly composed the greater part of the coppersmithing 
output are now manufactured by machinery. The copper¬ 
smith has been compelled to pass to heavier work which 
is not suited to individual shops, but is carried on, for 
the most part, in large shops employing a number of 
skilled workers. The feeling of proprietorship of the craft 
has in this way been broken down. 

Today there is scarcely a branch of industry that does 
not find some use for copper. Contractors use it for sky¬ 
lights, roofing, fire-proof doors, gutters, ornamentation, 
and other parts in which it is more and more frequently 
substituted for wood. Plumbers use it where corrosion is 
to be avoided or where the articles must withstand high 
pressure. The makers of scientific apparatus use it for 
mathematical and astronomical instruments of precision. 
The manufacturers of household utensils and restaurant 
equipment make extensive use of the metal. 

Its most important uses, however, are found in the 
following fields: First, in the manufacture of high pressure 
boilers, candy kettles, sugar tanks, vacuum pans, con¬ 
densers, evaporators, distilling columns, and auxiliary 
connections used in breweries, distilleries, sugar houses, 
chemical and dye factories, and munition and high explo- 


EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES 


13 


sive plants; and second, in the manufacture of piping for 
steam engine and pump connections. The most important 
part of this latter class of work is in connection with 
marine engines and the auxiliary equipment of ships. 

THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMPLOYMENT 

The Increasing Demand for Coppersmiths. Skilled cop¬ 
persmiths are hard to find. Employment managers have 
recently scouted the country over and say, ‘There are no 
coppersmiths to be found.” A superintendent of one of 
the largest shops in the country affirms that five or six 
positions await every first-class workman. It has been 
stated on good authority that at least ten more ships 
would have been launched on the Fourth of July if a 
sufficient number of skilled men could have been secured 
to install the copper piping equipment. This fact indi¬ 
cates that the shortage of labor is more acute in copper- 
smithing than in other shipbuilding trades. 

The causes for this shortage are obvious: First, 
America has been dependent for skilled coppersmiths upon 
other nations, principally Austria, Russia, and Sweden. 
Since the war, immigration from these countries has 
ceased. The supply has not only been cut off, but most 
of those who were here have been called home for military 
service. Second, many journeymen and apprentices en¬ 
listed for military service before the shipbuilding program 
was launched. And finally, the great demand for skilled 
workers in the government shipbuilding plants has 
drained the coppersmith shops of the country of practi¬ 
cally every available man. The situation is serious. Men 
with an aptitude for metal or mechanical work might well 
be advised to take up coppersmithing, not only as a 
patriotic duty, but as a permanent trade. 

The Future Development of the Industry. Since the pres¬ 
ent shortage of workers in this field has been accentuated 


14 


COPPERSMITHING TRADE 


by war conditions, it might seem that when the war is 
over the demand for coppersmiths would cease. A more 
careful consideration of the facts, however, indicates that 
the demand will not only not slacken, but is likely to 
become continually more intense, both in our expanding 
industries and in ship construction. Should the war cease 
within a year, the shipbuilding program, even under con¬ 
tracts now let, would continue for some time to come. 
The money now invested in shipbuilding will not be 
diverted to other channels until the United States has a 
merchant marine of vast proportions. Edward N. Hurley, 
President of the United States Shipping Board, estimates 
that it will reach twenty-five million tons by 1920. Our 
share in the commerce of the world after the war will in¬ 
crease rather than decrease. Hence it is reasonable to 
expect that our merchant marine will continue to grow 
with the coming years, and the repair work upon it alone 
will be sufficient to keep the coppersmith trade in a flour¬ 
ishing condition. 

In addition to this work, a new industry has sprung up 
since the beginning of the war—the manufacture of high- 
grade chemicals and dyestuffs. In 1914 there were in the 
United States only 112 plants making dyestuffs. There 
are now over 400 concerns engaged in this industry, and 
the number is continually increasing. It is often said that 
“American chemists will never be able to make dyes com¬ 
parable with the German dyes. When the war is over this 
new industry will collapse.” By means of recent discov¬ 
eries, however, American chemists are already in a 
position to compete favorably with German chemists in 
this line of work. This country will not, in all probability, 
be dependent again upon Germany for these necessary 
products. Furthermore, should the movement for pro¬ 
hibition curtail the manufacture of intoxicating liquors, 
the plants which are at present used for this purpose. 


A Copper Expansion Joint 

Such a joint is used on large pipes 
under high pressure to allow for 
changes in length due to heat. The 
workman is hammering the rims ot 
the joint into shape 




Drilling holes for attaching fittings to a copper 

coil for an evaporator 












Brazing a Copper Seam. (See page 21) 



Operations in the Manufacture of Copper Floats 

The worker standing at the lathe is forming flat pieces of sheet copper 
into the cup-like shapes shown stacked against the wall on his right. 
The man seated completes the work by soldering the two halves together 
and attaching the metal lever. This work is suitable for men with an 
artificial leg, injured hand, hernia, or trunk injuries 

















EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES 15 

would, no doubt, for the most part, turn to the manu¬ 
facture of chemicals, acids, dye-stuffs, and other articles 
which would require extensive copper equipment. Hence 
the fear that the closing of the breweries will menace the 
coppersmithing trade is not well founded. Therefore 
with the rapid growth of our merchant marine and the per¬ 
manent establishment of factories for the making of dye¬ 
stuffs, a bright future for the sheet copper trade is assured. 

THE NATURE OF THE WORK 

Sheet copper work, as it is carried on today, falls 
naturally into three divisions: First, the manufacture 
of light articles, such as cooking utensils, fire extin¬ 
guishers, restaurant equipment, light building material, 
water-floats, liquid measures, funnels, and many other 
similar articles. Second, the manufacture of heavy 
articles, such as vacuum pans, condensers, distilling 
columns, sugar kettles, chemical vats, acid tanks, dyers’ 
equipment, pressure boilers, expansion joints, tanks, and 
coils. And third, the manufacture of piping equipment 
for distilleries, sugar houses, chemical plants, and the 
main and auxiliary connections of marine engines. A 
great variety of copper pipes is used for the latter, running 
in sizes from two to thirty-five inches in diameter. 

Light Articles. The manufacture of light articles is done 
in some shops by coppersmiths and in others by sheet 
metal workers. Open shops have no hard and fast line 
which separates the work of the former from that of the 
latter. Members of sheet metal unions may work on 
copper of ten gauge and lighter, while coppersmiths may 
work copper of all gauges. The real distinction between 
the work of the two trades lies in the art of hammering and 
brazing copper. These processes require the skill of an 
experienced coppersmith whether the article is to be made 
out of light or heavy sheet copper, while inside and outside 


16 


COPPERSMITHING TRADE 


work for buildings, cornices, gutters, roofs, doors, furnaces, 
ventilators, and similar articles are made by sheet metal 
workers, whether the material used is galvanized iron, zinc, 
tin, or copper. 

Heavy Articles. The manufacture of heavy articles 
requires extraordinary physical strength and endurance, 
and more than ordinary mechanical skill. Shops, even 
when equipped with modern appliances, are not free from 
dust, gas, and smoke. Working over hot furnaces, in the 
presence of glaring flames, amidst the continual clang of 
hammers and the harsh roaring sound of compressed air 
blasts, taxes one’s physical and nervous strength to the 
utmost. These conditions go naturally with the trade 
and cannot be eliminated. 

Piping Equipment. Copper piping is used extensively in 
shipbuilding, which requires a large variety of pipes and 
connections. The work is heavy and presents conditions 
characteristic of the manufacture of large copper articles. 
The piping equipment of a ship may be classified under the 
two following heads: (a) Steam and exhaust piping. ( b ) 
Suction and discharge piping. 

The steam and exhaust pipe lines connect with the main 
engines and all auxiliary machinery, such as condensers, 
main and auxiliary pumps, circulating pumps, fire and 
bilge pumps, evaporating and distilling plants, sea chests, 
heating systems, refrigerating plants, and cross connec¬ 
tions forming various separate and distinct working units. 

Steam pipes are made either of wrought iron, steel or 
copper. The last is the best for two important reasons: 
First, it is non-corrosive and therefore withstands exposure 
to air and sea-water. Second, it is readily bent and formed 
into shapes necessary to fit all conditions, and is easily 
formed into T-elbows and S-joints, which are frequently 
necessary in ship construction. It has, however, the fol¬ 
lowing disadvantages: It costs more than wrought iron 


EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES 


17 


and steel; its tensile strength is less than that of steel; 
and it often deteriorates in the process of being worked 
into shape. This last disadvantage is very slight when the 
work is done properly. 

Exhaust pipes are usually made of copper. In some 
cases brass screwed pipes are used. The main exhaust 
pipe leads from the main engine directly to the condenser, 
with branches cross-connecting with auxiliary condensers. 

The suction and discharge pipes take care of the water 
system. They are classed as follows: Sanitary system; 
feed pipes from tank to boiler; drains from traps to bilges 
or tanks; fire and bilge suction from sea to discharge on 
deck; fresh water system from distiller to fresh water 
tank; circulating water for discharging overboard and 
cross-connecting with fire and bilge pumps. 

SUITABILITY OF THE TRADE TO HANDICAPPED MEN 

Work in Light Sheet Copper. This work is well adapted 
to men with various handicaps for the following reasons: 

1. It is light work and does not require unusual physical 
strength and endurance. Much of it can be done while the 
worker is seated. 

2. A large part of it is now done by machinery. Persons 
without experience can, within a short time, learn to run 
different machines, such as drills, presses, spinning lathes, 
and folding machines. 

3. The work may be learned in a comparatively short 
time without technical training. 

4. The products are standard and in constant demand, 
a fact which assures permanent employment. 

5. It is kindred to other sheet metal manufacture so 
that the worker can turn from one field to another. This 
assures a wide range in one’s choice of employment. 

6. It opens the way for men with a mechanical turn of 
mind to become skilled coppersmiths. 



18 


COPPERSMITHING TRADE 


Specific Disabilities 

1. Legs. An artificial leg would not necessarily lessen 
one’s efficiency, assuming that he had the right attitude of 
mind and ordinary agility. 

2. Arms. An artificial arm would be a serious handicap 
to one, except in case of unusual skill and indomitable will 
and determination. 

3. Hands. One hand must be nearly normal, the other 
usable; the loss of two or three fingers, stiff joints, or even 
cramped thumb and fingers, would not necessarily in¬ 
capacitate the worker. 

4. Eyes. The loss of one eye would not interfere with a 
worker’s efficiency, provided the other eye was normal and 
the sight strong. The trade requires good eyesight. 

5. Ears. Deafness would not be a handicap. In fact, 
many persons who are hard of hearing in ordinary sur¬ 
roundings find they can hear quite well in shops where 
there is a continual noise. 

6. Neck. Stiffness of the muscles of the neck and in¬ 
ability to turn the head freely without turning the body 
may usually be overcome by resolute exercise of the muscle 
affected. 

7. Head. Disabilities which might at times produce 
faintness, lapses of memory, or inability to think con¬ 
nectedly, while not entirely incapacitating one, would be 
serious handicaps to efficient work. 

8. Trunk Organs. Much of the work requires one to 
stand in a stooping position for long periods at a time and 
to bend the body forward and from side to side frequently. 
Disabilities of the abdomen, alimentary canal, and kid¬ 
neys, therefore, which would render stooping and bending 
difficult, would prevent one from doing efficient work. 

9. Hernia. Hernia, not of a severe nature and well- 
controlled, would not incapacitate a worker. 


EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES 19 

io. Lung Wounds and Pulmonary Diseases. Even in 
well-equipped shops gas and dust cannot be entirely 
eliminated. Persons with lung wounds and pulmonary 
diseases should seek employment elsewhere. 

Work in Heavy Sheet Copper. Heavy sheet copper work 
requires unusual physical strength and endurance. Ham¬ 
mers weighing three pounds and more must be used. 
Planishing, hardening, bending, and brazing copper are 
processes which tax one’s strength severely. The work 
must be done over furnaces, in high temperatures, in the 
midst of dust, smoke, and dirt. Handicaps which impair 
the general health, lessen physical strength, and weaken 
the powers of endurance would interfere with one’s 
efficiency for work in heavy sheet copper. 

To understand the suitability of this work to various 
disabilities, a thorough comprehension of the different 
operations involved is imperative. The making of a 
simple article like a copper roll or shell requires many 
different and distinct operations which are typical and 
apply, with natural modifications, to practically all heavy 
sheet copper work. In a large shop a person would be 
called upon to perform one, or at most a few, of these 
processes. Hence a disability that would be a handicap 
for one process but not for others would not necessarily 
debar him from the trade. After the processes have been 
described, the relation of the various disabilities to each 
of these processes will be pointed out. 

Description of Processes 

1. Laying out. From a blue print the pattern is marked 
off on the copper sheet. 

2. Cutting. The metal is cut as marked with a rotary 
cutting machine. 


20 


COPPERSMITHING TRADE 


3. Beveling edges. The edges are hammered out to a 
gradual bevel so as to form a smooth seam when placed 
together. 

4. Planishing. The grain of the copper is closed with a 
heavy hammer and then worked down to a clean, smooth, 
glossy finish with a muffler over the face of the hammer. 
A piece of skin parchment drawn tight over the metal may 
be used instead of the muffler. The function of the muf¬ 
fler or skin parchment is to prevent the impact of the 
hammer from leaving sharp ridges around the blow. 

5. Folding . Formerly copper sheets were hammered 
into the proper shape over a suitable stake or block. 
Sometimes it was necessary to use a tool known as a shank, 
which is simply a stake with a cross piece fitted over the 
top. At the present time most of the work of folding is 
done by rolling machines, which are made on the principle 
of a common clothes-wringer. 

6. Clamping. Slits are cut in one edge of the copper 
sheet. These slits run obliquely to the edge of the copper, 
forming clamps, the depth of which varies with the weight 
of the material. 

7. Dove-tailing edges together. The straight edge is 
slipped in between the clamps and spaces of the other edge. 
The clamps are then hammered down. 

8. Holding seam closed. After the edges are put together 
clamps are fastened on so as to hold the seam closed during 
the process of brazing. 

9. Annealing. Copper is hardened by hammering or 
rolling in a heavy press machine and softened by heating. 
Heating copper to loosen the grain or soften it is called 
annealing. Annealing furnaces consist of a circular heat¬ 
ing chamber opened at both ends so that the copper can be 
fed at one end and discharged at the other. The heat is 
applied by means of a compressed air blast through an 
aperture underneath the circular chamber. 


EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES 


21 


10. Charging with spelter. After spelter has been dis¬ 
tributed evenly along the seam and heated to the point 
of melting, which is about 1200° Fahrenheit, borax is 
thrown in to cause the spelter to flux properly. (Spelter 
is a brazing solder composed of copper, tin, and zinc. 
There are three grades, heavy, medium, and light, accord¬ 
ing to the proportion of the three metals in the alloy. The 
heavy and medium grades are used for brazing copper; the 
light grade is used for brazing brass.) 

11. Brazing , The seam is heated over a clean fire, 
usually a coke furnace, until the spelter fluxes with the 
copper. This process requires skill, which can be learned 
only through experience. On one hand, the seam must be 
heated sufficiently to cause the copper and spelter to flux 
well; on the other, if the seam is overheated, the copper 
will burn and consequently disintegrate. The brazier 
must be able to tell when the heat is just right by the color 
of the copper and the action of the spelter. A coppersmith 
who has been working at the trade for more than a score 
of years put the matter this way: “You may tell a worker 
how to braze, and he may understand what you tell him, 
but this will not enable him to braze properly. He must 
learn by experience. The skilled brazier cannot say how 
he acquired the skill; he just picks it up through practice.” 

12. Filing and chipping the seam. After the seam is 
brazed, the rough parts are chipped off, and the seam is 
filed smooth. 

13. Scouring and cleaning. The shell is then immerged 
in a weak solution of oil of vitriol which removes the borax 
and most of the smoke and dirt. Upon being removed 
from the solution, it is scoured clean with water and sand. 

14. Tinning. The inside is covered with a thin coating 
of tin. This is done by dipping the copper in molten tin 
after the outer side has been covered with wet whiting or 
plumber’s soil to prevent the tin from adhering to it. 


22 


COPPERSMITHING TRADE 


Another process is sometimes used. It is as follows: The 
copper is heated to the melting point of tin, cut clean by 
the application of muriatic acid, and then tin is fused on 
and spread evenly with a swab dipped in sal ammoniac. 

15. Punching holes for rivets and connections . Most 
shops today have machinery for punching holes for rivets, 
bolts, and connecting pipes. 

16. Soldering the connections. The castings for the con¬ 
necting pipes are set in place and soldered by hand. 

17. Riveting. Two men work together at riveting. One 
man inserts the rivets, and with a hollow punch draws the 
copper up around the rivet. The other man with a heavy 
hammer in both hands drives the rivets down. 

18. Buffing and polishing. This is done on a lathe with a 
cloth wheel covered with a composition of emery. 

19. Forming. Folding a common shell, as noted above, 
is a simple rolling process usually done by machinery. 
Frequently, however, workers are called upon to shape 
copper into complex forms as in making S-bends or dome 
heads. This is recognized as perhaps the most difficult 
as well as the most important process in working 
copper. 

The malleability of copper makes it possible to work it 
into any conceivable shape. It is this quality that enables 
the worker to form complex and irregular vessels out of the 
metal without impairing its tensile qualities. To mold 
copper into these irregular shapes requires high skill and 
ingenuity. This skill can be attained only by constant 
practice. Hence it requires a long time, usually three or 
four years, for an apprentice to become a journeyman. 

The tools used in forming copper are numerous. The 
following are representative: wooden mallets of many 
different sizes and shapes; hand hammers made in various 
styles, such as flat-face hammers, round-face hammers, 


EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES 


23 


coilcave-face hammers, saddle-face hammers, and spring- 
face hammers; machine hammers; stakes; shanks; blocks; 
mandrels; and folding machines. 

Individual patterns differ so widely that the copper¬ 
smith must rely upon his ingenuity to determine what 
tools are best suited to the particular case. Often im¬ 
provised appliances are worked out for the occasion. The 
main thing in forming copper is for the worker to under¬ 
stand how to mold it to fit the particular use for which it 
is designed. 

20. Bending and fitting pipes. In marine work pipes 
must frequently be bent and twisted to fit into the places 
which they are to occupy. This requires careful work. 
Bends of all angles, from a gradual curve to a double twist 
or S-like shape, are often needed. Pipes from two to 
twelve inches in diameter can be bent without impairing 
the strength of the pipe. Bends in pipes larger than 
twelve inches in diameter are usually made in the shop. 

Patterns, known as templates, are furnished, showing 
the exact length of pipe, form of bend, and position of 
flanges. A piece of piping is cut a few inches longer than 
the template, and if it is composed of heavy guage copper, 
it is filled with sand before being bent. Light guage copper 
pipes are filled with rosin. After being filled with sand 
the pipe is heated until it takes on a cherry-red color. It 
is then placed on a bending block—a heavy iron plate 
three to five inches thick with holes for lugs at regular 
distances—and bent by hand. In some modern shops the 
work is done on a bending-roll run by hydraulic power. 
When pipes are filled with rosin before being bent, they are 
first annealed, filled with molten rosin, placed in a tank 
of water to cool, and then bent into shape while cold. 

The foreman applies a template made of wrought iron 
to the pipe as it is being bent, and by this means deter¬ 
mines when the proper form is attained. Applying the 




24 


COPPERSMITHING TRADE 


template requires good judgment, as the pipe must be 
bent to the exact form before it has time to cool. 

If the pipe is wrinkled in bending, the wrinkles must be 
carefully hammered out. This is a particular piece of work 
as the pipe must be kept uniform in size, and the strength 
of the metal nowhere impaired. In some shops bending 
machines have been much improved since the war began. 
One shop has designed a machine which turns out pipes 
as large as twelve inches in diameter without wrinkling 
them to any great extent. 

After the pipes have been bent to the correct form, the 
sand or rosin is removed and the pipe washed and scoured. 
The flanges are then brazed on or fitted on by the method 
known as the Vanstone joint. This latter method is said 
to be more economical but, in the opinion of many copper¬ 
smiths, it will not be as durable as brazing. It consists in 
forcing the flange on far enough so that the projecting end 
of the pipe can be turned over the edge of the flange. This 
edge is hammered down and holes are punched so that 
the flange bolts pass through the copper. No brazing is 
necessary with this joint. After the flanges have been set, 
the joints are scoured with water and sand, smoothed 
down with mallet and hammer, and buffed and polished 
on a lathe. They are then ready to be fitted into place. 

Specific Disabilities 

1. Legs. An artificial leg would not necessarily in¬ 
capacitate one for any of the processes, provided he had 
a real liking for the trade and enjoyed robust health. 

2. Arms. Two good arms are necessary for tinning, 
brazing, forming, and bending pipes. Men with an arti¬ 
ficial arm could help in these and perform nearly all of the 
other processes. Former metal workers who have lost an 
arm may become efficient helpers in coppersmithing. 




Soldering Small Copper Pipes 
in a Condenser 

The workman holds in his right 
hand a stick of solder which extends 
to the bottom of the cylinder where 
it is heated from_the outside by the 
torch 



ff 

■I 

w 

m 




J *5 




wfcc L -Mm 


Deep Sea Diving Helmets 

The principal operations consist in shaping the head and shoulder 
pieces on machines and in brazing on the attachments 










W 'mm ' ■* ,, '**W 



gg PC 








A Planishing Machine 

The piston resting on the condenser head at P strikes light blows in 
rapid succession which smooth and harden the copper. (See page 20) 



A n automatic rolling machine used for closing the grain 
and increasing the tensile strength of copper sheets 

(See page 22) 




















EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES 


25 


3. Hands. A person who has lost or had one hand 
seriously injured could do efficient work except on braz¬ 
ing, forming, tinning, and bending and fitting pipes. 

4. Fingers. The loss of fingers or stiffness of joints does 
not usually interfere with efficient work in coppersmithing. 
Persons who have lost three fingers of the right hand, in¬ 
cluding the forefinger, have become skilled in the trade by 
painstaking application. 

5. Eyes. The loss of one eye, provided the sight of the 
other eye was normal, would not incapacitate one for any 
of the processes. 

6. Ears. Deafness would not incapacitate one for any 
of the processes of the trade. 

7. Neck. Stiffness of the neck muscles and serious in¬ 
juries which would interfere with the easy flexing of the 
neck would be serious handicaps for the processes of 
charging with spelter, brazing, forming, and bending and 
fitting pipes. 

8. Head. Faintness, lapses of memory, lack of mus¬ 
cular coordination, while not incapacitating the worker, 
would be serious handicaps for the processes of brazing, 
riveting, tinning, folding, and bending and fitting pipes. 

9. Trunk Organs. Persons with disabilities of the ab¬ 
domen, alimentary canal, kidneys, and other trunk organs 
would not be able to perform the operations of brazing, 
tinning, riveting, folding, and bending pipes. 

10. Hernia. Most cases even of severe hernia can be 
cured by a surgical operation. Men who have been thus 
cured may enter the trade without serious risk. 

11. Lung Wounds and Lung Diseases. Physicians have 
proved that what is known as ‘copperman’s chest’, while 
a ‘pulmonary fibrosis’, is due purely to mechanical irri¬ 
tation and not to copper poisoning. However, persons 
with these disabilities should find employment elsewhere. 


26 


COPPERS MITHING TRADE 


12. Skin. Certain irritations of the skin might be 
aggravated by the usual shop conditions. This effect 
would be due, not to so-called copper poisoning, but to 
the sharpness of the metal-dust particles. Lead and zinc 
which are used in copper alloys are extremely poisonous 
and injurious in the case of a diseased or abrased skin. 

13. Shell Shock. Persons who have not recovered from 
shell shock should find employment elsewhere. 

THE HEALTH CONDITIONS IN COPPERSMITHING 

It is well known that vegetation is very sensitive to 
certain copper gases and salts—a fact which has led 
many to believe that copper is injurious to the health of 
workers. This belief has been strengthened by the fact 
that men who work continually in copper factories often 
notice greenish deposits on their teeth and in their gums 
and a greenish tint to the perspiration. 

Careful investigation, however, on the part of physi¬ 
cians, discloses the fact that the diseases known as 
‘copperman’s chest’ and ‘copper cholic’ are not due to 
copper poisoning. An interview with seventy-five copper¬ 
smiths in Chicago showed that the men were all uniformly 
healthy even though some of them had been working at 
the trade for more than forty years. Zadek, who has 
made a thorough study of occupational diseases, concludes 
that there is no evidence for the common belief in copper 
poisoning. Other men who have made similar investiga¬ 
tions say no evidence can be found of copper poisoning 
among bronze or copper founders. Similar studies among 
copper miners fail to discover any affliction directly trace¬ 
able to the poisonous effect of copper. 

While physicians do not agree with the idea that copper 
workers are immune to typhoid fever and other diseases, 
they affirm that copper has ‘little significance as an indus¬ 
trial poison’. The conclusion reached by medical experts 



EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES 


27 


is corroborated by the experience of Mr. A. C. Badger of 
the E. B. Badger & Sons Company of Boston. Mr. Badger 
is a master coppersmith and has devoted nearly two score 
years to the work. He writes as follows concerning the 
relation of coppersmithing to diseases: 

In my experience of thirty-eight years in the coppersmith 
trade I have never known of any case of a man being affected 
seriously by the fumes of copper or brass. These fumes are 
caused by the annealing and brazing processes. Many of our 
men have been in our employ as long as fifty years. We have 
at the present time several men who have worked with us for 
almost forty years. Most of the deaths have been from 
natural causes. Most of the men whom we have lost lived to 
seventy-five and eighty years of age. If deaths have been 
laid to work in coppersmith shops from poisonous gases, they 
generally can be traced to alcoholism. 

QUALIFICATIONS OF WORKMEN AND THE TRAINING 

REQUIRED 

The following section lists the most important divisions 
of the work as found in the average shop: 

Foremen . The coppersmith foreman supervises the 
manufacture and repair work. He should be skilled in all 
the processes of the trade. 

Leading-Men. A leading-man is a first-class copper¬ 
smith who serves as an assistant to the foreman. It is his 
duty to see that work is carefully distributed among the 
workmen and to have general oversight of apprentices. 

First-class Coppersmiths. The first-class coppersmith is • 
a highly trained workman, skilled in working copper into 
all forms. 

Second-class Coppersmiths. The second-class coppersmith 
is a man who has passed beyond the apprenticeship stage 
but who has not yet acquired skill in certain operations. 

Helpers. Helpers are men without special training who 
work with the coppersmiths. 


28 


COPPERSMITHING TRADE 


Apprentices. An apprentice is one who engages to learn 
the trade. As a rule he signs an agreement to continue in 
training for a period of four years. 

Physical Qualifications. The work of coppersmithing re¬ 
quires more than ordinary physical strength and endur¬ 
ance. Robust health, good eyesight, and strong physique 
are qualifications which apply to all classes of workers. 

Educational Qualifications 

Helpers. No educational qualification is required for a 
helper. If, however, a man becomes a helper with a view 
to learning the trade, he should have the general educa¬ 
tional qualifications required of apprentices. 

Apprentices. Apprentices, as a rule, must be at least 
sixteen years of age and have completed the first six 
grades of the common school. The completion of a course 
in a trade school is desirable. Frequently young men of 
foreign parentage take up coppersmithing as apprentices 
before they have learned to read and write the English 
language. These persons are urged to attend evening or 
continuation schools. 

Second-class Coppersmiths. No educational qualification 
is required but advancement depends largely upon one’s 
educational equipment, hence a second-class coppersmith, 
if he expects to advance in the trade, should have the 
general educational qualifications required of apprentices. 

First-class Coppersmiths. In addition to the educational 
qualifications required of apprentices a first-class copper¬ 
smith must be skilled in all of the processes involved in 
working copper. This skill is attained only through 
several years of experience. The processes of annealing, 
hammering, brazing, and forming sheet copper, and 
bending copper piping can be learned only by long and 
careful practice in company with trained mechanics. The 
practical experience of the coppersmith is the most impor¬ 
tant part of his training. 


EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES 


29 


Foremen. In general the foreman should have a common 
school education supplemented by a thorough course in a 
trade school. Whether he has had the advantages of 
schools or not, he must be qualified in the following lines 
of work: 

a. Fundamental mechanical methods: 

Freehand and mechanical drawing. 

Tracing and reading blue prints. 

Making rough sketches for shop details. 

Making and interpreting specifications for all kinds of 
construction work. 

b. Knowledge of materials: 

The mechanical action of air on metals and of metals 
on one another. 

Solders of all grades together with the chemical action 
of alloys in solder. 

Purposes and uses of fluxes. 

c. Shop mathematics: 

Estimating the amount and cost of materials. 

The use of computation tables and reference books. 

Simple algebraic equations and formulae. 

Determination of areas. 

d. Handling workers: 

This requires personal qualifications of tact, good judg¬ 
ment, readiness to take the initiative, and ability to 
comprehend the local labor situation. 

TRAINING COPPERSMITHS 

The Present Situation. Coppersmithing, being a highly 
skilled trade, requires careful training on the part of those 
who become first-class workmen. The most efficient 
method yet devised for training men in this trade is the 
old apprenticeship system. With the present high wages 
for unskilled labor this system, however, is fast becoming 
inadequate to supply a sufficient number of skilled men 
to meet the present demands. Young men do not care to 


30 


COPPERSMITHING TRADE 


spend four years in learning a trade when they can take 
up unskilled labor at much higher wages. 

It might seem that the numerous trade schools that have 
been established in the various states during recent years 
would be able to supply trained workers for this trade. 
This, however, is not the case. Graduates of trade schools 
would, for the most part, have to take up coppersmithing 
as beginners, and the small wages paid at the present time 
to apprentices are not at all attractive to them. Further¬ 
more, trade schools do not attempt to train men to become 
skilled mechanics. In reply to an inquiry as to what is 
being done to train coppersmiths in the State of New York, 
Mr. L, A. Wilson of the Division of Agricultural and In¬ 
dustrial Education for the State writes as follows: 

The evening trade schools have enrolled about 30,000 men 
and women during the past year. These schools are planned 
for people who are employed in the trades during the day, and 
the work in the evening school supplements their daily occu¬ 
pation. No attempt is made in the evening trade schools to 
train green men for trade work. 

The situation is acute, and managers and owners of 
coppersmith shops recognize that new plans must be 
adopted for training unskilled men in the trade of copper- 
smithing. 

Shop Schools. The war emergency is causing employers 
to consider in a new light the question of training men. 
Formerly the employer held it to be the duty of the worker 
to educate and train himself. Now many manufacturers 
see that the training of men is as important a part of any 
industry as the obtaining of raw materials or the sale of 
the product. A recent editorial in the Washington Times 
states this point of view very forcibly as follows: 

Manufacturers, why not add to your big enterprise a small 
educational branch and teach men what you want them to 
know? Provide special instructors. Let a man have a few 


i 


EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES 


31 


hours’ training and the rest of the day do manual work, and 
earn a moderate day’s pay while he is learning. When you take 
in raw material you do not consider that you are wasting time 
or good nature when you shape it and change it and make it 
valuable for your use. Why not do with the raw material of 
unskilled labor what you do with other raw material? Manu¬ 
facturers do not leave to accident or voluntary action their 
supplies of coal or steel or rubber or other material. Is it not 
time to stop the haphazard method in regard to labor? 

Manufacturers are fast coming to take the same view 
of the problem of training workers. Many of them have 
already established successful training departments in 
connection with their plants. Mr. John C. Spence, super¬ 
intendent of the training school in the plant of the Norton 
Grinding Company, Worcester, Massachusetts, speaks of 
his work as follows: 

Our training department is in a gallery of one of our mills. 
It has its own work room, tool vault, and other facilities sepa¬ 
rate from the rest of the plant. We have put through this 
school, since its inception twenty-eight months ago, 270 people. 
We are now putting them through at the rate of about five per 
week. We have retained ninety of these in our employ to date. 
Other Worcester firms have hired 180 away from us. The fact 
that other people are attempting to hire these men is an indi¬ 
cation that the product of our school is at least worth bidding 
for. The general opinion in the shop is that the school is a 
good scheme. We pay a beginner according to age, previous 
experience, and general ability. Boys from sixteen to twenty, 
without previous experience, get from seventeen to twenty 
cents per hour. Men who have done such work as driving a 
grocery team get thirty-five cents per hour. We have found 
very few who have not earned at least as much as their day 
work rating and, on the average, the men have earned ten 
cents per hour over their day work ratings. I believe thor¬ 
oughly in this work and I believe that the competition of the 
near future will compel all industries to adopt some such 


32 


COPPERSMITHING TRADE 


scheme not only for what might be called ‘first grade’ work, 
but also to extend the scheme to embrace the training of each 
grade into still better workmen. 

Mr. C. U. Carpenter, Works Manager for the Recording 
and Computing Machines Company, Dayton, Ohio, de¬ 
scribes the training department of his company as follows: 

When the writer took charge of the works in January, 1916, 
it was the practice to bring the new employees directly into the 
shop, set them at the machines and have them learn the work 
at these machines in the shop. They were set to work at 
either large or small machines, the like of which they had 
never seen before, and naturally were too nervous to do their 
best. I therefore started the mechanical training department. 

This training department was located in a well lighted room, 
away from the factory, and placed therein were all of the 
different types of machines upon which training was necessary. 
I placed at the head of this school one of my most expert me¬ 
chanics and operators. The employees were first selected with 
care by the employment department for the different classes 
of work that they were supposed to do. The system of teaching 
was well standardized. The teacher explained the character of 
the metal and the kind of tools that were used, going over 
carefully with each individual employee the work that each 
tool was supposed to do—the machine being operated in order 
to illustrate each point. We trained them only to become 
skilled upon one particular job. We sometimes found in the 
school that the selections for the different operations as made 
by the employment department were not always the best, and 
we often shifted employees from one operation to another 
until the one for which they were particularly suited was found, 
doing this in the training department so that we would not 
have this problem to meet in the shop. The length of time 
required for teaching these operators varied with the class of 
work but it ranged from three days to ten days. We, who 
compose this organization, have had very broad experience in 
many different lines, and we know that the same results can 
be secured in any branch, whether it is manufacturing of 



Man with right hand amputated punching holes in heavy sheet copper 

With simple appliances he is able to handle large sheets readily and turns 
out as much work as any man in the shop. The punching machine is 
shown at the left; workmen on this operation must know how to 
adjust it for different kinds of work 








Hammering out the wrinkles caused in bending a 
ten-inch copper pipe. (See page 24 ) 



Three Typical Copper smithing Operations 

The worker at the right is repairing a copper pressure boiler. The one 
at the left is smoothing out a seam which has been brazed. In the 
center is shown a shell with a seam (at the bottom) ready for brazing 


















EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES 


33 


delicate instruments, shipbuilding, building aeroplanes, or gun 
production. 

In this connection it is interesting to note the stand 
which the British Government has taken toward Training 
Departments in factories. At the beginning of the war 
in 1914 England and France looked to their technical 
schools for the training of additional mechanics. The 
supply from that source was so limited that many great 
producers instituted training departments in their fac¬ 
tories. The Ministry of Munitions of Great Britain makes 
the following statement in regard to this movement: 

Every works employing 300 workers or more, with the ex¬ 
ception of certain special cases, must set aside a portion of the 
shop to be organized and maintained as a training shop for 
improving the skill of unskilled workers. Smaller factories 
may be exempt if they are able to make suitable arrangements 
with a technical school in the neighborhood. During the 
whole of the training period, wherever it may be taken, the 
employer must continue to pay the workers on the basis of 
what they earned previously in manufacture. 

These instances will serve to show that manufacturers 
are coming to look upon the training of employees as a 
part of the legitimate expense of industry. While the in¬ 
stances noted above deal particularly with training a 
person to do one special operation, it is clear that the same 
methods may be used—and in fact are at the present time 
so used in many shops—in training men to become skilled 
mechanics. No doubt when employers begin to invest 
more money in the development of skilled workers they 
will find a solution for many of the present problems con¬ 
nected with the employment of men. 

Training for Promotion . It is to be noted, however, that 
the plant training departments or vestibule schools are 
not, as they are being conducted today, giving the worker 
all of the training to which he is entitled. Service depart- 



34 


COPPERS MITHING TRADE 


merits are realizing that it is an economical gain for indus¬ 
tries to look after the general education of their employees 
as well as the practical training of them in shop work. 
The employees who attend continuation or evening schools 
as a rule recognize more quickly the possibilities for ad¬ 
vancement and consequently take more interest in their 
work. To assist employees in the matter of promotion is 
as important as to find new employees. An examination 
of the various kinds of work done in any plant with a view 
to helping the employment office in selecting and training 
men is incomplete unless it also classifies the jobs and 
maps out the natural lines of advancement. The training 
should therefore be such as to promote one by successive 
stages to the higher and more desirable positions in the 
plant. This means that a complete system must provide 
for the training of foremen as well as of skilled mechanics. 
Employers everywhere say that it is harder to secure com¬ 
petent foremen than any other kind of worker. This 
indicates clearly that at the present time there is no ade¬ 
quate means for training them. Foremen are usually 
responsible for much more than the technical details of 
construction. Training for foremanship ought to include 
some of the most important factors involved in dealing 
with workmen and in the management of a department. 

The new view of the relation of industry to the training 
of its employees was well stated by Mr. F. C. Schwedtman 
of the National City Bank of New York in an address 
before the Employment Managers’ Association, June 12, 
1917. Mr. Schwedtman says: 

In our agitation and subsequent mad scramble to apply 
efficiency to machines and plants, the majority of us have 
overlooked the factor that is closest to us. Instead of selecting 
and educating our employees in the pursuits to which their 
tastes naturally run, and then handling them through organi¬ 
zation and cooperation so as to get the maximum return, most 


EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES 


35 


of us have been too prone to neglect selection and education, 
and instead have commenced at the end of the progression and 
have spent our energies in trying to handle them. How much 
our country loses annually through failure to exercise this 
proper care in selection and training, and how much energy, 
time, and money is wasted in allowing men to spend their whole 
lifetime working at tasks to which they are not by nature 
adapted, is something which nobody has been able to calculate. 
Suffice to say that it would run to millions of dollars annually 
if calculable in money. 

There seems no good reason why the kind of educational 
work described above should not apply to trades like 
coppersmithing. The details would be different of course. 
The main thing is for employers to see that it is an eco¬ 
nomic advantage for them to invest money in the training 
and education of their employees. Employers and those 
interested in public education must face the scarcity of 
skilled workers and take adequate steps to meet the situ¬ 
ation. If they need trained workmen, the way to supply 
the need is to train them. 

Mr. Charles B. Rose, Assistant to the Superintendent of 
Training for the Emergency Fleet Corporation, in reply 
to an inquiry as to what was being done to train copper¬ 
smiths for shipbuilding, says, “There is an acute demand 
for coppersmiths at the present time and steps are under 
way for special training centers for this trade.” He does 
not indicate the nature of the training that will be given 
in these special centers, but it is natural to suppose that 
the expense will be carried by the Emergency Fleet Cor¬ 
poration. In many respects, this is distinctly a step in the 
right direction. Where the public schools or other public 
agencies are able and willing to bear a part of the burden, 
the best work can probably be done through some coopera¬ 
tive or part-time plan. The Federal Board has recently 
interpreted the Smith-Hughes Bill in such a way as to 


36 


COPPERSMITHING TRADE 


allow the expenditure of federal money for classes con¬ 
ducted within the factory on a part-time basis. In 
general, the method to be followed in instructing new 
employees in coppersmithing should be based upon the 
following steps: 

1 . An analysis of the operations, somewhat more detailed, 
but in the main similar to that outlined in the description of 
processes above. 

2 . The preparation of practical construction problems illus¬ 
trating these processes, with the necessary blue prints and 
instruction sheets to accompany each step. 

3 . Equipment of a special shop or room for instruction pur¬ 
poses, or where this is not possible, the setting aside of certain 
machines and benches in each department for learners. 

When employers are ready to bear a fair share of the 
responsibility of training skilled workers, the question of 
method and detail will be easily solved. Until that time 
we shall have to depend upon trade schools, technical high 
schools, and the old apprenticeship system to supply the 
present demand for coppersmiths. 

The Fore River Apprenticeship Plan . The Fore River 
Plant, one of the largest yards of the Bethlehem Ship¬ 
building Corporation, has made several modifications in 
the old apprenticeship system in an effort to meet the 
present labor conditions. To give an idea of what is being 
done to assist young men in learning a trade, an outline 
of the plan is given below; 

The teaching force consists of an apprentice supervisor 
and his corps of instructors. The functions of the appren¬ 
tice supervisor is to acquaint beginners with shop condi¬ 
tions, direct the work of apprentices, and see that the 
efforts of instructors, leading-men, and foremen are applied 
to the best advantage, to the end that skilled workmen of 
good character are produced. 


EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES 


37 


The instructors are chosen from men who possess 
marked teaching ability and who have had practical 
experience in the trades in which they give instruction. 

Provisions are made so that apprentices have the best 
possible opportunity to learn the trade. The supervisor 
frequently appoints a leading-man to see that the appren¬ 
tices have the privilege of working with first-class work¬ 
men rather than stay at one operation continuously. 

After a period of probation, generally six months, an 
apprentice contract which sets forth the terms of appren¬ 
ticeship is signed by the apprentice and the concern. In 
order to encourage the apprentice to complete his term, a 
bonus and a diploma are generally offered for satisfactory 
service. Evening classes are conducted from October to 
April inclusive for the special benefit of apprentices, and 
time credit is given for attendance in these classes. 

Systems of pay vary, but it is a common practice to 
make a slight increase of a few cents in the hourly rate at 
the beginning of the second and third years, and there¬ 
after semi-annually. 

Training Disabled Men. What has been said above con¬ 
cerning training applies especially to the normal worker. 
The training of disabled men presents certain additional 
problems. Three preliminary considerations must be met 
before the actual work of training can be effectively done. 
First, the injured man must be encouraged to believe that 
he can be fitted to perform useful wage-earning service. 
Second, the public must be brought to consider the soldier, 
not as an object of charity, but as one who deserves to be 
educated and trained to enter a productive occupation. 
And third, the employer must be led to see the importance 
of providing simple special machine appliances which will 
assist the injured man in doing effective work and to be 
patient with him until he becomes adjusted to the new 
conditions. 


38 


COPPERSMITHING TRADE 


While the government has assumed the responsibility 
for re-educating and fitting disabled soldiers and sailors to 
enter remunerative occupations, the work of training men 
injured in industry must be provided for in other ways. 
J udging from the trend of the practice among employers at 
the present time, it will not be long before the training of 
these men will be considered as great an obligation upon 
the management as the repair of machinery. As sugges¬ 
tive of practical working methods for training handicapped 
men, a brief statement of what is being done in Canada 
is given here. 

Provisions for Training Disabled Men in Canada. In 
order to obtain the information necessary in determining 
the kind of training courses to be offered for returned men, 
surveys were made of nearly two hundred occupations. 
Upon the basis of these studies courses were outlined and 
vocational counselors were instructed in the work of 
placement. ‘‘There came a time,” writes the Minister 
for the Department of Soldiers’ Civil Re-establishment, 
“when it was realized that steps must be taken to prevent 
the disabled men from competing against each other in a 
certain narrow group of occupations. Consequently the 
department decided to train as many as possible of the 
men in industries and shops where they would subse¬ 
quently be employed.” 

Men are placed with employers for all or for part of the 
period of training. Where only a few ask for courses in 
any locality men are brought to special centers for in¬ 
struction and part-time work as in occupations for the 
blind, wireless telegraphy, dental mechanics, massage, 
commercial design, assaying, and other similar occu¬ 
pations. 

The method in part-time courses varies considerably. 
In some localities all of the instruction and training is 
provided by the firm. In others, short preparatory 


EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES 


39 


courses are given in day or evening schools under the 
Vocational Branch or Technical Branch of the Provincial 
Department of Education, and then the men are placed 
with firms for the remainder of the work. 

Frequently special correspondence courses are provided 
for in connection with Institutes of Technology. Miners 
especially desire these courses. Local school boards may 
also offer instruction in night classes for returned men. 
When this is done the Invalided Soldiers’ Commission pays 
about fifty per cent, of the cost. 

Many of the returned men are given training in pro¬ 
vincial institutions such as normal schools, colleges, and 
agricultural schools. These institutions furnish the in¬ 
structors and equipment, and the Invalided Soldiers’Com¬ 
mission pays the cost of the books or other supplies and 
the maintenance of the men. 

The Canadian system for the re-education and training 
of returned men is meeting with splendid success, as the 
following statistics will show: 

On June 1, 1918, 4,876 men had been granted courses while 
the figure for May 1 was 3,861, that is, 1,015 cases were ap¬ 
proved during the month of May alone. The number of 
courses in progress on June 1 was 2,077, of which 2,038 were 
being taken by discharged men. The number of men who had 
completed their courses and gone out into employment was 
increased from 351 to 481, making a total of 130 for the month. 

CONCLUSIONS 

A careful study of the present situation in the copper- 
smithing trade has disclosed the following important facts: 

First, coppersmithing offers desirable opportunities to 
those who wish to learn a trade. The demand for workers 
is so great that helpers receive thirty-five to forty cents 
per hour while they are learning the trade. Skilled 
workers receive as high as seventy-two and a half cents 
per hour, with a bonus for faithful and efficient service. 


40 


COPPERSMITHING TRADE 


Second, the outlook for the future promises continued 
development for the trade. New fields are opening up. 
Greatly increased numbers of workers, even after the war 
closes, will be needed. Probably no other trade presents 
better prospects from the point of view both of compen¬ 
sation and permanent employment. 

Third, while the working conditions are not easy, men 
who, through the misfortunes of war or of industry, have 
lost a leg, a hand, or even an arm, or whose hearing has 
been impaired, or hands partly mutilated, can find em¬ 
ployment suited to their disabilities and sufficiently re¬ 
munerative to make them independent, self-respecting 
economic units. 


Some Economic Aspects of the 
Coppersmithing Industry 

NUMBER AND NATIVITY OF COPPERSMITHS 

The United States census for 1910 gives the total 
number of coppersmiths employed in the various lines of 
industry in the United States as 3,185. Of this number 
2,260, or over 70 per cent., were foreign born or of foreign 
parentage, while only 925, or less than 30 per cent., were 
Americans. Several reasons have been advanced as to 
why American youth do not take up coppersmithing. One 
reason is that they do not care to take the time necessary 
to learn the trade. As a rule it requires four years for a 
beginner to become a first-class coppersmith, and the pay 
while learning is much less than one can receive in other 
lines of work. The present high wages in other occupations 
are more attractive to American youth than the better 
wages they would receive in a few years after having 
mastered the copper trade. It is further suggested that 
the unattractive working conditions are repulsive to them. 

Present conditions indicate that the proportion of 
foreign born coppersmiths has decidedly increased in the 
last few years. Three of the leading coppersmith shops 
of New England say that more than 90 per cent, of their 
men are foreign born or of foreign parentage. The employ¬ 
ment manager of one of the largest shipbuilding plants in 
the country says that at least 98 per cent, of his large force 
of coppersmiths is foreign born or of foreign parentage. 
He holds that the chief reason why American youth do 
not take up the work is that foreign born coppersmiths are 
reluctant to teach the trade to them. 


42 


COPPERSMITHING TRADE 


According to the thirteenth census the coppersmiths of 
the United States were employed in the following lines of 
industry: 


Automobile factories 

117 

Blast foundries 

36 

Brass mills 

48 

Copper factories 

1,749 

Electric factories 

31 

Iron foundries 

56 

Railroad shops 

867 

Shipbuilding 

281 


More recent data indicate that the number of copper¬ 
smiths employed in automobile factories, shipbuilding 
plants, and railway shops is increasing. These lines of 
industry are more attractive to American youth, a fact 
which will, no doubt, draw more of them into the trade. 

THE world’s PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION OF COPPER 

Copper is at the present time found extensively in 
various parts of the world. As early as 1250 A. D. copper 
was mined in Cumberland, England, a place which was 
famous for copper as late as 1470. During the fifteenth 
and sixteenth centuries England imported most of her 
copper from the continent, chiefly from Hungary. Early 
in the eighteenth century rich copper mines were found 
in Devonshire and Ireland, and from that time England 
produced the largest part of the world’s supply of copper 
until the rich mines of North and South America were 
opened. As late as 1850 Great Britain was producing 
over 26 per cent, of the world’s copper, while the United 
States was producing only 1.2 per cent. 

In 1909 Great Britain’s production dropped to only 
0.06 per cent., while that of the United States rose to 
58.2 per cent, of the world’s supply. In 1850 the leading 
copper producing countries of the world in order of pro- 


SOME ECONOMIC ASPECTS 


43 


duction were Great Britain, Chili, Russia, the Austrian 
Empire, Australasia, Asia, Scandinavia, Germany, Turkey, 
South America except Chili, Africa, Japan, Mexico, New¬ 
foundland, Canada, and the United States. In 1909 the 
countries ranked as follows: The United States, Mexico, 
Japan, Australasia, Chili, Canada, South America except 
Chili, Russia, Germany, Scandinavia, the Austrian Em¬ 
pire, Africa, Newfoundland, Turkey, and Great Britain. 

Copper has for years been an important factor in our 
export trade. In 1913 just before the war broke out, more 
than one-third of the entire amount of nearly a billion 
pounds avoirdupois was sent to Germany and about one- 
fifth to Holland. In 1915 no copper was sent to Germany 
and only a small amount to Holland, while the amount 
exported to England, France, and Italy was 200 per cent, 
more than in 1913 . The value of the copper exports (in¬ 
cluding spelter and brass) for the first eleven months of the 
fiscal year 1915-1916 was over three hundred millions of 
dollars, while for the corresponding eleven months of the 
year 1913-1914 it was less than one hundred and fifty 
millions of dollars. These facts show the importance of 
copper as a war commodity. 


Alaska,1915 

35,348 

Alaska,1917 

43,800 

Other states, 1915 

119 

Other states, 1917 

10,700 

Total, 1915 

694,005 

Total, 1917 

945,000 


Map showing in short tons the production of copper in the 
United States for 1915 and 1917. The upper figures in each 
district are for 1915 and the lower for 1917. The total for the 
latter is over one-third more than for the former. In 1917 the 
United States produced more than 67.9 per cent, of the 
world’s copper. 


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44 


COPPERSMITHING TRADE 


LOCATION OF COPPERSMITH SHOPS 

While coppersmith shops are located for the most part 
in large industrial centers, usually near some important 
shipping port, they are fairly well distributed over the 
states east of the Mississippi river, and along the Pacific 
coast. This is a matter of considerable importance from 
the point of view of the desirability of advising returned 
soldiers and sailors to enter this trade. The experience of 
the Allies is to the effect that when returned men have 
been fitted for an occupation they desire, as a rule, to 
locate in or near their former place of residence. As 
coppersmith shops are widely distributed, a large number 
of men could find employment in them and still return to 
their home communities. Further, there would be this 
advantage; should a considerable number of returned 
men desire to enter this trade, they would be widely dis¬ 
tributed, and the placement of a number of handicapped 
men in any one community would thereby be avoided. 

While the following list of firms is necessarily incom¬ 
plete, it will serve to show the wide distribution of copper 
shops throughout the United States. 

California: San Francisco 

Oscar Krenz. Copper & Brass Works, 431 Folsome Street 
C. W. Smith. Copper Works, 16 Washington Street 

Delaware: Wilmington 

Benj. F. Shaw Company 

Georgia: Savannah 

McMillan Brothers. Southern Copper Works 
Illinois: Chicago 

Atlas Copper & Brass Manufacturing Company, 2738 High Street 
F. Trenkhorst Manufacturing Company, 902 Larabee Street 

Indiana: Indianapolis 

F. H. Lansenkamp, 130 East Georgia Street 

Kentucky: Louisville 

Ahler & Gregoire, 621 East Main Street 
Corcoran, Matt & Company, 118 North Fifth Street 
Vendome Copper Company 


C 

( 

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SOME ECONOMIC ASPECTS 


45 


Louisiana: Donaldsonville 
Wm. Dill 

Massachusetts: Boston 

E. B. Badger & Sons, 75 Pitts Street 

S. D. Hicks & Son, 9-17 Bowker Street 

National Copper Works, 140 Washington Avenue, North 

Massachusetts: East Boston 

Bertelson & Petersen Engineering Company, 256-264 Border Street 
Boston Copper Works Company, 84 Marginal Street 

Massachusetts: South Boston 

Dahlquist Manufacturing Company, 36 West Third Street 
Gerstein, Brass & Copper, 1-3 West Third Street 

Maryland: Baltimore 

Lawrence Ellerbrock, 29 South Frederick Street 
John Hubert, 1714 Thames Street 

Jos. Kavanaugh Company, Pratt corner Central Avenue 

Michigan: Bay City 

Schepper & Covert 

Missouri: St. Louis 

Aufrichtig Copper & Iron Works, 900 South Third Street 
Mesker Brothers Iron Company, 421 South Sixth Street 
Seibel-Suessdorf Copper & Iron Manufacturing Company, Second 
Street, corner Lombard Street 

New Jersey: Hoboken 
Flynn Brothers 

New Jersey: Jersey City 

L. O. Koven & Brother, 200 Ogden Avenue 
Smith & Daubt 

New Jersey: Newark 

L. Lawrence & Company, 292 Halsey Street 
Theo Walter, Jr., 13 Essex Street 

New Jersey: Paterson 

Charles Brabender, Sr. Paterson Copper Works 

New York: Brooklyn 

Atlantic Basin Iron Works 

New York: Buffalo 

J. P. Devine Company, 1380 Clinton Street 
New York City 

Gerdes & Company, Incorporated, 40 Church Street 
Griscom-Russell Company, 90 West Street 
P. H. Kearney & Sons, 504 West Twenty-seventh Street 
A. Louy & Company, 511 West Twenty-first Street 


46 


COPPERSMITHING TRADE 


Ohio: Cincinnati 

American Copper & Brass Works, 612 South Front Street 
Geo. F. Klotter Company, 1722 Central Avenue 
Vulcan Copper Works Company, 122 Sycamore Street 

Ohio: Hamilton 

Hamilton Copper & Brass Works 
Ohio Copper & Brass Works 

Pennsylvania: Johnstown 

Geo. Muehlhauser & Son 

Pennsylvania: North Philadelphia 

F. J. Stokes Machine Company 

Pennsylvania: Philadelphia 

Ford Brothers & Company, 1610 Front Street 

Jos. Kopperman & Sons, 307 Florist Street 

Geo. F. Ott Company, 213 Buttonwood Street 

Philadelphia Coppersmithing Company, 226 North Front Street 

Emil Shaefer, 1320 North Fifth Street 

Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh 

Stender Coppersmith Company, 2932 Smallman Street 
Virginia: Norfolk 

R. A. Burroughs & Company, 1006 East Water Street 

Washington: Seattle 

Seattle Copper Works 

Wisconsin: Milwaukee 

Herman Weissleder Company, 816 Winnebago Street 


Bibliography 

Austin, Leonard S. The Metallurgy of the Common Metals. Mining and 
Scientific Press, San Francisco, 1907. 

A valuable treatise on copper ores and methods of extracting, smelting, and con¬ 
verting copper. 

Cleveland Educational Survey. The Metal Trades , by R. R. Lutz. The 
Survey Committee of the Cleveland Foundation, or Division of Edu¬ 
cation, Russell Sage Foundation, New York City, 1916. 

This work is valuable from the point of view of showing the relation of copper- 
smithing to other metal trades. 

Curran, John F., M.D. Relation of the Industrial Surgeon to Industry 
and to Society. The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, vol. clxxviii, 
no. 7, pp. 215-217, February 14, 1918. 

This article gives valuable information concerning the industrial risk of certain 
diseases. 

Doherty, G. S. A Course of Elementary and Advanced Sheet Metal Work 
and Pattern Drafting. Peck, Stow, and Wilcox, Southington, Conn. 

A valuable volume for those who are learning the sheet metal trades. 

Fuller, John, Sr. The Art of Coppersmithing. David Williams, 102 
Reade Street, New York, 1894. 

This book is a clear description of the principal operations involved in working 
sheet copper into all forms. The operations are made clear by numerous illustrations. 
It is a book that will be helpful to one learning the coppersmith trade. 

LIayhurst, E. R. Industrial Health-hazards and Occupational Diseases in 
Ohio. Chicago, 1915. 

A suggestive study of health conditions in the leading industrial occupations in 
Ohio. 

Hurley, Edward N. The American Merchant Marine. International 
Marine Engineering, New York City, vol. xxiii, no. 7, July, 1918. 
Pages 379-381. 

Kober, George M., M.D., and Hanson, William C., M.D. Diseases of 
Occupation and Vocational Hygiene. P. Blakiston’s Son & Co., 
Philadelphia, 1916. 

A very valuable work on the hygiene of occupations. 

Metal Worker, The. The Architecture and Building Press, New York 

City. 

A weekly journal published in the interests of those working in the metal trades. 


48 


COPPERSMITHING TRADE 


Our Journal. Metal Polishers, Buffers, Platers, Brass and Silver Workers’ 
Union of North America. 

A monthly magazine devoted to the interests of trade unions in metal work. 

Rose, Augustus F. Copper work. Belcher & Loomis Hardware Co., 
Providence, R. I. 

Weed, Walter Harvey, The Copper Handbook , vol. xi. W. H. Weed, 
Publisher, Houghton, Michigan, 1914. 

A comprehensive manual of the copper mining industry of the world. The work 
gives statistics concerning the world’s copper supply and consumption, together 
with the monthly average prices of copper. 

Wilson, Alfred W. G. The Copper Smelting Industries of Canada. 
Government Printing Bureau, 1913. 

A volume showing the development of the copper smelting industry in Canada, 
with statistics on the world’s production and consumption of copper. 





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